Friendship
by Ayla Pascal
Summary: Evan had always been friends with Severus.


Author Notes: Thank you to aigooism for the beta!

Evan had always been good friends with Severus; they had been close since their first day at Hogwarts. When they met on the train, Evan was glad to find somebody who also wanted to be in Slytherin. They ended up with other friends, but Evan always felt closer to Severus. The only black cloud over their friendship was the Gryffindor Mudblood.

He just couldn't understand why Severus would want to be friends with her. Was Severus a Mudblood sympathiser? Or was he just attracted to the girl? Frankly, Evan didn't care about the reasons. Severus simply wasn't rational when it came to Lily Evans. Sometimes, Evan wondered whether Severus liked her better.

"Why're you friends with her?" Evan burst out one night when Severus came back late after studying with Lily in the library.

"She's smart," Severus said calmly as he tucked his books underneath his bed.

Evan had to concede that. As far as he knew, Lily always did well in classes. "She's still a Mudblood though," he pointed out.

Severus slowly stood up and brushed down his robes. "Did you ever think that maybe blood might not matter?" he asked quietly. "Not all Muggles are animals."

Evan blinked and then laughed. Obviously Severus was joking. His friend wouldn't say something like that. "Be careful," he said as he patted Severus on the back. "Some people might think that you were a Muggle sympathiser. Or worse, a half-blood or Mudblood!"

A strange expression crossed Severus's face. "Well I wouldn't want that," he said finally.

* * *

Evan was glad when Severus finally stopped following that Gryffindor Mudblood around like a lovesick puppy. It wasn't as though the girl didn't have plentiful charms - especially when she leaned forward and you could see all the way down her robes – but she was a _Mudblood_ and therefore off-limits. "You're worth ten thousand of her," he told Severus.

Severus shrugged. "I don't want to talk about it," he said sharply.

Evan slung an arm across Severus's shoulders and grinned at the expression on his friend's face. "You're sulking," he said. "I know your sulking look."

Severus raised an eyebrow and stepped out from under Evan's arm. "I don't have a sulking look."

"Just look in the mirror," Evan pointed out. Of course, knowing Severus, he probably never looked in the mirror. Severus tended to spend all his spare time hunched over cauldrons brewing all sorts of nasty potions.

Severus just glared at him.

* * *

It was after Severus stopped talking to Lily that things began to change with them. At first Evan thought it was because Severus had more time to spend with him. And then he wondered whether it was because of their newly sworn allegiance with the Dark Lord. The secrecy was bound to tie them together.

But it was after they left Hogwarts, the first time Evan saw Severus injured at the hand of an Auror – it wasn't even a serious injury, just a small scrape – that he _knew_. "You idiot," he said softly as he brushed Severus's hair away from his face. "Don't be so careless next time."

The expression in Severus's eyes froze him in mid-motion. "It's barely a papercut." His breath caressed Evan's face.

Evan shivered. He fully intended to turn away, to dissipate the awkwardness, to walk away from the situation, but instead, he found himself dragging Severus forward. Severus's lips felt dry and warm underneath his. Evan expected to be pushed away, but instead, Severus made a moaning sound at the back of his throat.

"That was... unexpected," Severus said.

Evan nodded.

* * *

The next time, it was more than a papercut.

Severus was shaking as Evan deposited him on the bed. Blood splattered the sheets from the oozing wound on Severus's side. "Here," Evan blurted out as he grabbed a glass of water off the table and tried to pour it down Severus's throat. "Drink this. It'll help."

Severus gave him a 'you're-an-idiot' look that would have been almost funny if his blood wasn't splattered down the front of Evan's robes. "C-cupboard," he managed to get out, pointing a shaking finger towards his left. "R-r-restorative potion."

Evan dived down and rummaged in the cupboard that Severus was pointing at. There were a ridiculous number of potions in there, undoubtedly the result of years and years of brewing. Severus always spent his weekends bent over his cauldrons. "Ah!" he exclaimed as he grabbed the potion. As he uncapped the potion, Evan frowned. "You sure this'll be strong enough?" He didn't know much about potions, but as far as he knew, restorative potions were fairly weak.

Severus winced as he reached for the potion and gulped it down. "Of course, it's strong enough," he rasped out. "It's quadruple strength."

"Your own recipe, I guess," Evan said. His eyes widened as he saw the gash down Severus's side begin to knit together. "Works well."

With a grimace, Severus sat up and pressed his hand to his side. "I still need to get Narcissa to heal it properly." He looked around the room. "Why didn't you take me to Malfoy Manor?"

Evan felt a sliver of annoyance slide through him. "I wasn't thinking," he said sharply. "I just wanted to get out of there. You were bleeding everywhere and the Aurors were closing in."

"Well, least we didn't end up at your place," Severus said, wrinkling his nose. "I'd probably be dead."

Evan sighed. "I'll grab you a clean set of robes. I know how Narcissa hates to get blood on her furniture." He began unbuttoning Severus's robes. "You make a terrible patient," he retorted. "I just saved your life."

"I saved yours last week," Severus pointed out.

"I made you breakfast this morning."

Severus lifted an eyebrow and stared at him. "You gave me a piece of burnt toast."

"You need to get a house elf. They help a lot with the cooking, you know," Evan told him as he handed Severus the clean robes. "Put that on and I'll Apparate us across."

* * *

"Here you go," Evan said. He put a tray on the bedside table.

Severus blinked slowly as he sat up. "Not burnt toast this time, I see," he drawled.

Evan looked down at the tray loaded with bacon, eggs, toast, mushrooms, tomatoes, and pumpkin juice. "Thought you'd need something after yesterday to get your strength up," he said casually.

Severus's lips twitched. "I need to get my strength up, do I?"

Evan nodded and then grinned. He sat down on the edge of the bed and ran a hand across Severus's bare chest. He was pleased to see a bulge appear underneath the sheets. "You _definitely_ need to keep your strength up."

Severus's eyes gleamed as he pulled Evan forward. "I believe that breakfast can wait," he murmured.

Evan had no objections to that. His friendship with Severus had grown into something much more and there was no longer anybody between them. As Evan felt Severus's lips against his neck, he wondered whether Severus knew that he was far more important to Evan than anything else in his life. Even the Dark Lord.

"Breakfast can definitely wait," Evan gasped out.

-fin


End file.
